


Croissants and Conversation

by Ragingstillness



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adults Being Friends, Cute, F/M, Pastries, Watch me try and write real adults
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 11:10:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10512564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ragingstillness/pseuds/Ragingstillness
Summary: A rainy day and extenuating circumstances land Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur in the Dupain-Cheng bakery.





	

    Gabriel stepped out onto the pavement. He felt something fall softly on his hair and reeled back, squinting up. It came again, falling on his face. Then he sighed and turned right back around, a hand on Nathalie’s shoulder guiding her into the bakery with him. 

    “Sir?” 

    “It’s raining.” 

    Nathalie sighed and wrapped an arm across her waist. 

    “And just on the day Alan has off.” 

    Frustrated within an inch of his reason and awfully jet lagged, Gabriel suggested, “Maybe Adrien can drive over and pick us up?” 

    Nathalie frowned at him. 

    “We’re not letting your underage son take a spin, in a limo, in the rain, to pick us up. We’ll just have to wait it out.” 

    They were coming back from a business conference that sadly didn’t involve the latest trends or styles but just plain old numbers. It happened every year. Nathalie was giddy in the weeks approaching it and Gabriel indulged himself in pouting like a child as he dreaded the event. 

    On the way back from the airport he had ducked into a little boutique to check out a pattern, claiming he had a burst of inspiration. Nathalie accused him of just wanting to touch fabric again. He had scoffed but not denied the claim. 

    The poor store owner nearly had a heart attack but after visiting, other than the jet lag, all was right in Gabriel’s world again. Until the rain and Alan not being there and his legs aching and suddenly his outlook was floating back in a puddle. 

    He allowed his eyes to rove over the establishment they had sought shelter in. It was bright pink, with large windows, and a stylish logo done up in gold on said windows. In any other weather phenomenon it would be cozy, soft even. 

    Nathalie too was taking in the environment, her eyes focusing less on the colors and more on the macaroon towers and croissants. 

    They must have made some sort of noise because a short woman came out of a backroom behind the register. She started when she saw them then walked around the counter. 

    “Hello, how can I help you?” 

    Her service smile was too genuine for the bakery to be anything but family owned. Nathalie addressed the woman as Gabriel still felt like death. 

    “It’s begun to rain and we’ve only just arrived from the airport. If it’s not too much trouble, could be shelter here until it’s over?” 

    The woman clasped her hands in front of her. 

    “Of course. No one is going to come in during a storm anyway, I’ll ask my husband if he has any snacks.” 

    “Oh no, Madame, we couldn’t intrude on your hospitality.” 

    Nathalie could be diplomatic when she wanted to. Plus, she hated rain almost more than Gabriel did. “So many scheduling conflicts! Nothing can take place outside!” She had ranted, one of the few times Gabriel had convinced her to share her own opinions. 

    “Nonsense,” the woman followed. “And don’t even think about paying,” when she say Nathalie reach for her purse. Then she took off before they could comment. 

    Gabriel turned to Nathalie and raised an eyebrow. It was his equivalent of a shrug. The corner of her mouth twitched and she indicated all the treats with a sweep of her gaze. Gabriel rolled his eyes. Fine. At least they’d finally get some quality French pastries after that monstrosity the airline had dared to call a chicken dinner. 

    The small woman came back out, followed by a large man who was almost Gabriel’s height but nowhere near as stiffly thin. He was carrying a large tray which he immediately held out to his guests on one hand, holding out the other for a handshake. 

    When Gabriel took it the man introduced himself. 

    “Tom Dupain-Cheng.” 

    Gabriel replied in kind, appreciating the stiff power behind the handshake. 

    “Gabriel Agreste.” 

    Tom shot a quick glance towards his wife, who laughed silently for a moment, her eyes flicking towards the staircase behind her. 

    “Sabine Dupain-Cheng,” she introduced herself. At Gabriel’s questioning glance she nodded to the staircase. 

    “She isn’t here right now, but our daughter is a big fan of your work.” 

    Gabriel’s opinion of the family was improving by the minute. 

    While he turned to Sabine, Tom had swung the tray around to Nathalie, who also accepted his warm handshake with her name before asking with barely concealed delight about the treats so deliciously arrayed on the tray. Tom laughed and indicated the different varieties, cupping his hand over his mouth to whisper which ones were the best. 

    Sabine then moved from on from Gabriel to Nathalie, building off her previous statement. 

    “So we’ve heard plenty about you M. Agreste, but I don’t believe I know you, Mademoiselle.” 

    “I work with M. Agreste.” 

    “Of course how wonderful.” 

    Tom set the tray on a countertop. 

    “You have a son about our daughter’s age, don’t you Monsieur?” 

    Gabriel nodded. 

    “Yes. Adrien. I believe he’s in your daughter’s class.” 

    “Marinette sits behind him,” Sabine reminded her husband, a cautionary look in her eye. Tom picked up on it instantly and didn’t divulge the multitude of daydreams Marinette had accidentally mumbled out at the breakfast table about Adrien on weekends. 

    Both Nathalie and Gabriel had picked up on the nonverbal communication and were marveling at it in their own minds. There were so many different conversations going on at once in the room, even if only one of them was audible. During some of the tenser moments of Fashion Week, Nathalie and Gabriel tended to do this on a smaller scale, but that was over appointments and opinions, not personal information or emotion. It was completely different. Something else entirely. 

    Tom moved away from the danger zone onto a video game that his daughter had continuously beaten him at, one with a title Gabriel recognized as one Adrien played quite often. When he mentioned the fact Tom laughed and regaled him with the hilariously weak attempt Adrien had made at beating the gaming champion herself. 

    Nathalie asked what day it was and upon receiving the information, covered her lips with a hand. Sabine questioned her and both Dupain-Chengs and Gabriel learned that Adrien had been practicing it in his every spare moment since. 

    That prompted another round of laughs that Gabriel found himself hard pressed to not join. Maybe it was the jet lag, maybe it was the heavenly pastries, but he liked the happy couple. They were wonderful conversation partners, skilled beyond the sneaky aptitude he and Nathalie had both learned as a tool for success. 

    There was also a surprising amount that they had in common, from children around the same age to a similar confusion towards the new glass pyramid in front of the Louvre. 

    Nathalie’s leftover delight was furthered through a bit of talk about their business dealings and the financial aspect of things. Gabriel sat this one out for the most part, hoping that the next time he heard the word budget would be the last. 

    Then the conversation moved to Marinette’s aspirations in his industry and it was like another breath of fresh air. Only a minute into a passionate discussion on getting started in the industry did Gabriel spot Sabine’s pleased expression and realized that yet again the couple had the jump on the two introverts and had switched over to make them, specifically him, more comfortable. It was impressive to say the least. 

    A lull in the conversation let Nathalie comment on the clear sky through the windows. She had the clearest view of them, having moved to lean against a display case. Her relaxed state of being was surprising on its own but Gabriel was also shocked to note how the foursome had moved. Usually he was sewn to Nathalie at the hip, shadowing each other through difficult customers and investors in silent support. But for the past two hours they had been happily separated, moving their heads back and forth between Tom and Sabine. 

    It was the most comfortable and mindless he’d felt since the moments he’d catch in his office to work on his own designs rather than delegating the task. It made him feel, not happy, but maybe a little grateful. 

    They extricated themselves from the conversation with continuous ease. Gabriel was holding the door when Tom and Sabine called after them. 

    “Have a nice rest of your day, M. Agreste, Mlle. Sancoeur.” 

    Gabriel exchanged a quick glance at Nathalie. They were in perfect agreement. He inclined his head to the pair. 

    “Gabriel and Nathalie are fine.” 

    He let the door go and they set off for the Agreste mansion.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Ok why did I write this? Idk, it came to me suddenly. Unfortunately, no, it isn’t a one-shot. Unfortunately for me. This will probably be sort of the other side of the episodes, written about the moments in between the romance angst and the akuma attacks. 
> 
> P.S. Poppicock, this is not the monster fic. That one's still in the works I just couldn't help myself with this one. 
> 
> Next chapter: let the drama begin! We learn what takeaway Tom and Sabine had from the experience as I blunder my way through writing their characters.


End file.
